We left home on Tuesday morning, heading west/northwest towards St. Louis, MO with the intent of seeing the Gateway Arch. After spending our first night on the road in Chattanooga, TN, we had an easy drive to our destination.
We had pre-booked tickets on the tram ride to the top of the arch for 9:50 am and, concerned about rush hour traffic, we left early. No traffic- we arrived at the National Park before it even opened! We parked down on the levee, and walked through the lovely park area to the entrance. Once in, we had lots of time to see the newly-renovated underground museum. What a great job they have done! For anyone with any interest in the history of the westward expansion of our nation would be thrilled with the exhibits. We were pleased to see the diverse perspectives offered- not just focusing on the brave pioneers, but also on the Native Americans displaced in the process, the wars and associated deaths associated with them, the impact on women, and the role of slaves that enabled much of this effort. There were so many interesting exhibits, there was not time before our tram ride to see it all.
Gateway Arch National Park, newly renovated and re-opened just this year, commemorates the role of St. Louis in the westward expansion of the United States back in the 1800's. St. Louis was originally established as a fur trading post, the location chosen near the confluence of the nation's two longest rivers- the Mississippi and the Missouri. When the Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the country, St. Louis was uniquely positioned to assist in westward expansion, and grew rapidly.
The arch was built in a forested park, part of a national historic site created in 1935. In 1947, there was a national competition to choose a design for the memorial. The arch design of the renowned architect Eero Saarinen was chosen, but was not built until 1963, opening to the public in 1965. The arch stands 630 feet high, and 630 feet wide from leg to leg. The tram consists of a series of "elevator cars" that climb inside each leg, tipping occasional to keep the car level while climbing the curved legs.
The cars of the tram are quite small, the doors entering the tiny, 5-seat cars, are only 4 feet high. When five people are seated inside, knees are definitely touching! There are no windows in the tram itself. After climbing to the peak of the arch, we climbed out and were able to look out the small windows to the views- the Mississippi and the Illinois shoreline out one side, the city of St. Louis, including a nice view of the historic Old Courthouse, out the other.
We grabbed some lunch at the museum following our tram trip, and walked over to the Riverboat dock- we had booked a trip on the Mississippi to see the waterfront. We had an opportunity to see more of the lovely park associated with the national park.
"The Mississippi is too thick to drink, and too thin to plow..." according to Samuel Clemons. The river was running high, about 9 feet over normal according to our captain, chocolate brown in color, and carrying lots of flotsam and jetsam... It was predicted to be 12 feet over by the weekend, due to rains from tropical storm Gordon. We lucked out, however, and had clouds but no rain. It is always nice to see a city from the waterside. The riverfront here in St. Louis, however, is not particularly pretty. Definitely a working waterfront. The river is crossed by many bridges, some built years ago and still in use. We saw a lot of barges being loaded, some with grain and one with scrap metal. All though nice to be on the water, the trip was not anything special.
We headed back to the hotel to get ready to go out to dinner. We were excited to be reminded my great niece Lexi, was in college just outside St. Louis, and we had arranged to meet she and her boyfriend Phil, for dinner. We met at a unique BBQ restaurant on the outskirts of the city. Had great food and a chance to catch up on her life. It is always special to be able to reconnect. We had not seen her since 2011, when we met up with her and her family in St. George, Utah.
Tomorrow we will leave the city and head to Nebraska, where we will visit a couple of national monuments.
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